CANTON, Ohio – Here are just a few leftovers from a historic weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame:
- Name Dropper: Jerry Jones squeezed in about as many names humanly possible in a shade less than 37 minutes, mentioning from Jimmy Johnson all the way to his faithful, longtime administrative assistant Marylyn Love. Once again showed no hard feelings exist between himself and Jimmy, his two-time Super Bowl-winning coach who was instrumental in putting the Cowboys back on the map, an accomplishment warranting Hall induction next year.
- Gang Is All Here: Here is a list of the former Cowboys coaches actually saw either at Jerry's induction or Friday night party: Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Dave Wannstedt, Norv Turner, Hudson Houck, Tony Wise, Les Miles, Jim Bates and Mike Pope. As for the former players, other than Cowboys Hall of Famers Roger Staubach, Mel Renfro, Bob Lilly, Rayfield Wright, Tony Dorsett, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith and Charles Haley, there were Tony Romo, Nate Newton, Daryl Johnson, Bill Bates, Darren Woodson, Greg Ellis, Flozell Adams, Babe Laufenberg and Billy Davis.
- Party Poppers: It's not every day you go to a party and see, Justin Timberlake, Warren Buffett, "Mean" Joe Greene, Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Earl Campbell, Lou Holtz, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and the Dick McCann award winner Ed Werder, just to name a few.
- Pure Gold: What a walk down memory lane at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Gold Jacket Dinner, where the inductees are presented their Hall of Fame jackets. In an auditorium hallway, nearly ran into Jim Brown, and even at his advancing age I still would have lost the collision. But how cool is it to be there when getting to see Hall of Famers like Paul Hornung, Mike Singletary, Jim Taylor, Dan Marino, Kellen Winslow, Marcus Allen, James Lofton and so many other. This should be every fan's bucket list, and if you plan ahead, not hard to pull off.
- Standing O: This was my sixth Hall of Fame induction to attend, the first back in 1987 when Joe Greene entered the hall. And I watch all the time. Love to hear the stories. But don't think I've ever seen so many standing ovations during an acceptance speech as I saw Saturday night for LaDainian Tomlinson. Powerful social-conscience words. If you haven't heard it, go listen. A worthy 20 minutes. Not only credits Emmitt Smith with inspiring him as at 12 years old, but traced his Tomlinson heritage back to a plantation slave owner who gave his last name to his great, great, great grandfather back in the day. Said he has joined "two races together in one last name. Tomlinson."
